FRANCIS  UIBIC  FARQUHAR 


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FRANCIS  ULSIC  FARQUHAR 


Necrology, Assn. of  the  Graduates 
of  the  U.S. Military  A oademy .Annual 
Reunion, 1884 


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The  Secretary  then  read  the  Necrology  of  Graduates  for  the 
year  ending  June   13,   1884. 

FRANCIS  ULRIC  FARQUHAR. 

No.   1934.     Class  of  June,  1861. 
Died,  July  3,  1883,  at  Detroit,  Mich.,  aged  45. 

Francis  Ulric  Farquhar  was  born  on  the  30th  of  October, 
1838,  near  the  borough  of  Pottsville,  Schuylkill  County,  Pennsylvania, 
his  father  being  George  W.  Farquhar,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  that 
State.  In  early  life  he  evinced  a  decided  taste  for,  and  desire  to  fit 
himself  for,  the  engineering  profession.  With  this  object  in  view,  he 
devoted  himself  to  study  in  such  schools  as  his  native  town  afforded  ; 
and  during  his  vacations  employed  himself  in  gaining  some  knowledge 
of  the  practical  part  of  his  chosen  profession.  When  not  more  than 
fourteen  years  of  age  he  was  engaged  with  Professor  Rogers  upon 
the  Geological  Survey  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Shortly  after- 
ward he  was  one  of  a  party  of  engineers  engaged  in  locating  a  rail- 
road in  Schuylkill  County. 

After  leaving  school,  at  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  he 
went  west,  and  was  employed  as  one  of  a  party  in  locating  the  Mis- 
souri Pacific  Railroad. 

His  great  ambition  now  was  to  graduate  at  the  U.  S.  Military 
Academy  and  enter  the  Corps  of  Engineers  of  the  Army.  While  still 
employed  upon  the  Missouri  Pacific  R.  R.,  he  sought  and  obtained 
an  appointment  to  West  Point,  from  the  district  in  which  Schuylkill 
County  was  situated,  and  entering  the  Academy  on  July  1,  1857,  was 
graduated  on  the  24th  of  June,  1861,  with  a  standing  of  No.  2,  and 
an  unblemished  record  as  a  cadet. 

The  coveted  commission  of  Brevet  Second  Lieutenant  in  the 

Corps  of    Engineers  was  now  his,  and  his  career  before  him.       The 

5 


34  ANNUAL  REUNION,  JUNE  13,  1884. 

civil  war  had  barely  begun,  and  the  necessity  for  the  services  of  every 
officer  of  the  regular  army  was  very  great.  Farquhar  passed  directly 
from  the  Academy  to  the  duty  of  drilling  volunteers  at  Washington, 
which  occupied  him  until  July  n,  when  he  became  Acting  Aide-de- 
Camp  upon  the  staff  of  Gen.  Heintzelman,  and  in  that  capacity  made 
the  Manassas  campaign,  being  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  July 
21,  1 86 1.  Meanwhile,  on  the  29th  June,  1861,  he  had  been  commis- 
sioned a  Second  Lieutenant.  On  the  third  of  the  following  month  he 
was  detailed  as  Assistant  Engineer  at  Fort  Monroe,  Va.,  and  re- 
mained there  until  April  19th,  1862,  when  he  joined  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  as  Assistant  Engineer,  and  as  such  took  his  full  share  of 
work  and  danger,  being  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  battle  of 
Williamsburg,  action  at  Slatersville  and  action  at  Mechanicsville, 
being  brevetted  a  First  Lieutenant,  May  5,  1S62,  for  ''gallant  and 
meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg."  On  the  24th 
July  he  was  again  assigned  as  Assistant  Engineer  at  Fort  Monroe, 
where  he  continued  until  December  29.  From  January  2  to  August 
3,  1863,  he  was  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Department  of  North  Carolina, 
and  during  that  time  participated  in  the  expedition  which  destroyed 
the  railroad  bridge  over  Tar  River,  at  Rocky  Mount.  On  the  3d 
March,  1863,  he  had  been  commissioned  a  First  Lieutenant,  and  on 
the  1st  August  a  Captain  in  the  Corps  of  Engineers,  thus  rising  from 
the  grade  of  Cadet  to  that  of  Captain  in  but  little  more  than  two 
years. 

From  August  3,  1S63,  to  May  27th,  1864,  he  served  as  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Department  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  being 
engaged  in  the  operations  about  Bermuda  Hundred,  and  partici- 
pating in  the  action  at  Swift's  Creek;  also  in  the  action  near  Fort 
Darling  ;  and  on  the  27th  of  May,  1864,  was  designated  as  the  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  continuing  as  such  to  the 
nth  of  August  following.  During  this  time  he  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  at  Cold  Harbor  and  siege  of  Petersburg,  and  was  brevetted 
Major  June  1,  1S64,  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the 
Battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Va." 

On  the  22d  August,  1864,  he  was  detailed  for  duty  at  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  as  Assistant  Professor  of  Engineering,  remaining  as 
such  to  June  16,  1S65,  and  being  brevetted  Lieutenant  Colonel 
March  13th,  1865,  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the 
Rebellion."     From  the  iSth  of  June  to  the  4th  of  December,  1865, 


ANNUAL  REUNION,  JUNE  13,  1884.  35 

he  was  on  duty  as  Assistant  Engineer  in  the  construction  of  the 
defences  of  Hampton  Roads,  Va.,  and  then  had  leave  of  absence  to 
February  8,  1866,  returning  to  duty  as  Assistant  Engineer  on  the 
Harbor  Improvements  of  Lake  Erie,  and  serving  as  such  to  January 
4th,  1867.  He  was  on  leave  of  absence  from  January  4  to  March  4, 
1867,  and  upon  returning  to  duty  became  Assistant  Engineer  on  the 
survey  of  the  Northern  and  Northwestern  Lakes,  where  he  served  to 
November  9,  1868,  when  he  was  assigned  as  Superintending  Engineer 
of  Harbor  Improvements  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
remained  in  charge  of  those  works  until  June  7,  1872,  at  which  date  he 
was  appointed  Chief  Astronomer  of  the  Survey  of  the  49th  parallel 
of  Latitude,  to  fix  the  Northern  Boundary  of  the  United  States.  On 
July  11,  1872,  he  obtained  his  commission  as  Major  in  the  Corps  of 
Engineers,  and  on  April  5,  1873,  was  relieved  from  duty  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Boundary  Survey,  and  on  the  25th  was  assigned  as 
Superintending  Engineer  of  Surveys  and  Harbor  Improvements  at 
the  West  End  of  Lake  Superior,  and  of  Surveys  and  Harbor  im- 
provements on  the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley,  continuing  upon  the 
former  to  June  30,  1878,  and  upon  the  latter  to  July  10,  1879. 
Meanwhile  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  following  Boards  of  En- 
gineers, viz  : 

On  the  Improvements  of  Harbors  on  Lake  Michigan,  May,  1869. 

On  Improvement  of  Saugatuck  Harbor,  July  6-23,  1869. 

To  select  site  for  harbor  of  refuge  on  Lake  Huron,  Oct.  19, 
1871,  to  July  18,  1872. 

On  appropriation  for  dredging  Bay  of  Superior,  April,  1873. 

On  proposed  bridge  across  the  Mississippi,  between  Warsaw  and 
Alexandria,  Mo.,  August,  1873. 

On  preservation  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  April  14-20,  1874. 

On  the  removal  of  the  north  pier  of  Rock  Island  Railroad 
bridge,  Sept.,  1874. 

On  location  and  plan  of  bridge  across  the  Mississippi  at  Clinton, 
Iowa,  Sept.  29,  to  Oct.  20,  1874. 

On  pile  and  pontoon  bridge  across  the  Mississippi,  near  Du- 
buque, Iowa,  May,  1875. 

On  improvement  of  Ahnapee  Harbor,  Wisconsin,  Oct.  13,  to 
Dec.  16,  1875. 

On  use  of  shear  booms  for  bridge  piers  in  Mississippi  River, 
July  7,  1876,  to  Feb.  2,  1877. 


36  ANNUAL  REUNION,  JUNE   13,   1884. 

On  improvement  of  the  low  water  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
River  July,  1878,  to  June  30,  1879. 

On  examination  of  Harbor  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  April  17,  1879. 

On  improvement  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers  during 
consideration  of  the  question  of  improving  the  Wisconsin  River, 
January  9  to  June  30,  1879. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1879,  ne  became  the  engineer  secretary  of 
the  Light  House  Board,  and  performed  the  duties  zealously  and  well, 
until  relieved  August  28,  1882,  having  been,  on  the  31st  of  July, 
1882,  assigned  to  the  charge  of  the  works  of  river  and  harbor  im- 
provements on  the  line  of  water  communication  between  Lake  Erie 
and  Lake  Superior,  which  included  such  important  works  as  the  im- 
provement of  Detroit  River  at  the  Lime  Kilns  crossing  ;  the  St.  Clair 
Flats  Ship  Canal ;  the  Harbor  of  Refuge  on  Lake  Huron  ;  the  im- 
provement of  Saginaw  River;  the  improvement  of  St.  Mary's  Falls 
Canal,  and  St.  Mary's  River  ;  and  the  improvement  of  Hay  Lake 
Channel  of  St.  Mary's  River,  besides  many  minor  works.  He  was 
relieved  from  the  charge  of  all  these  by  his  death  on  the  3d  of  July, 
1883. 

For  a  year  or  two  before  his  death  his  health  had  been  steadily 
failing  ;  but  he  would  not  appear  to  yield  to  sickness,  and  among  the 
last  acts  of  his  life  was  the  preparation  of  a  paper  upon  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  which  he  personally  read  at  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  at  Minneapolis, 
only  a  couple  of  weeks  before  his  death.  After  his  return  from  this 
meeting  he  regularly  attended  to  his  office  duties  up  to,  and  in- 
cluding, Friday,  June  29.  The  next  day  was  quite  inclement,  and  he 
was  prevailed  upon  to  remain  at  home  and  to  have  such  matters  as 
required  his  personal  attention  brought  to  him  by  the  clerks  in  his 
office.  On  Sunday,  July  1,  he  was  about  the  house,  and  saw  any 
friends  who  called  upon  him.  The  next  day  he  attempted  to  go  to 
his  office,  but  finding  himself  unable  to  go  down  stairs,  remained  in 
his  room.  Although  suffering  greatly,  he  attended  to  such  office 
business  as  was  brought  him.  Tuesday  morning  he  was  still  suffering 
intensely,  but  insisted  upon  disposing  of  such  matters  of  business  as 
required  his  personal  attention,  and  as  late  as  half-past  two  in  the 
afternoon  signed  vouchers,  checks,  and  other  papers.  Three  hours 
later  he  was  dead — affording  a  fine  example  of  conscientious  devo- 
tion to  duty  to  the  latest  moment  vouchsafed  him. 


ANNUAL  REUNION,  JUNE   13,   1884.      •  37 

He  was  a  hard  student  and  an  earnest  worker,  giving  himself  to 
his  duties,  and  requiring  efficient  service  from  all  under  his  control, 
an  end  comparatively  easy  to  accomplish  because  of  his  own  ex- 
ample. Of  the  highest  professional  attainments,  of  unimpeachable 
integrity,  genial  and  considerate  in  his  social  intercourse,  of  the 
purest  moral  character,  he  affords  a  fine  illustration  of  the  Christian 
gentleman,  that  highest  type  of  manhood. 

O.  M.  P. 


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